The present invention relates to an improved floor mop. The prior art mops include a stick; a mop head having mop fabric; and a lower handle. The lower handle is axially and rotatably movable relative to the stick and is attached to one end of the mop fabric of the mop head. The other end of the mop fabric is non-rotatably secured to a lower end of the stick. The mops further include an upper handle that is attached to the stick so that the upper handle is rotatable relative to the lower handle to wring the mop fabric of the mop head. This type of floor mop is commonly referred to as a twister mop and is sold in large quantities under the SMARTMOP and other trademarks and is very successful. When employing this mop during cleaning, the lower handle is lowered so that the mop fabric of the mop head has a rosette shaped appearance. When the mop head is later cleaned, the mop head is immersed into a liquid or into rinsing water. To wring the liquid out of the mop, the mop fabric of the mop head is stretched by moving the lower handle upwardly so that the mop fabric is substantially parallel to the stick. The lower handle is then rotated about the stick so that the lower handle and the upper handle are rotated in opposite directions. The result is that the mop fabric is pressed against the stick during rotation so that the mop fabric is tightly twisted and extends in a helical path about the stick. The rinsing and wringing procedure can then be repeated if it is necessary or desirable.
These prior art floor mops have the drawback of being difficult to wring, particularly for those who have weak hand strength. Additionally, the method of wringing the mop is cumbersome and time consuming and the procedure is divided into steps requiring changes of the grip requiring a high level of coordination. When the grip is shifted from one grip to another it is difficult to maintain the partial wringing of the mop that has already been accomplished.
Another problem of other prior art mops described in the patent literature is that the twisting of the mop fabric of the mops is often initiated before the strips are stretched which reduces the affect of the wringing operation.
One objective of the present invention is thus to improve the prior art floor mops described above and commonly referred to as twister mops.
The floor mop of the present invention includes a stick, a mop head of mop fabric and a lower and an upper handle. The lower handle is axially and rotatably movable relative to the stick and is attached to one end of the mop fabric of the mop head. The other end of the mop fabric is non-rotatably secured to the lower end of the stick. The upper handle is in operative engagement with at least one helical groove defined in the mop stick. This helical groove is either defined directly in the mop stick, or in an attachment member such as a sleeve or an extension that is attached to an upper portion of the stick. The helical groove defined in the mop stick or in the attachment thereto enables a rotation of the stick relative to the lower handle by longitudinally moving the upper handle in the helical grooves to wring the mop fabric of the mop head. In particular, the upper handle has a protrusion that is adapted to engage the helical groove to rotate the mop stick, by axially moving the handle away from the mop fabric which prior to the wringing has been pulled up around and is substantially parallel to the mop stick. In other words, the helical groove converts a translational movement of the upper handle along the stick to a rotational movement by the stick.
In a preferred embodiment of the floor mop of the present invention, an upward translational movement of the upper handle is used when the mop fabric is to be wrung. This novel method of upward movement of a shiftable handle has been shown to be far superior with regards to both easy handling and effective wringing compared to the prior art wringing methods.
The grooves of the present invention are not necessarily defined in the mop stick itself. This has many notable advantages. For example, an attachment member may be mounted to existing mops of the customary type available and is independent from the configuration of the mops with regard to the mop head and the attachment of the mop head to the rest of the mop as long as the basic principles of the function of the mop are according to the mops described above. A significant hygienic and functional advantage is the position of the wringing mechanism because the rinsing water never comes in contact with the mechanism.
In one embodiment of the floor mop of the present invention, the wringing mechanism includes an attachment member and a protrusion extending radially inwardly from the upper handle to operatively engage the helical groove of the attachment member so that the stick may be rotated by upwardly shifting the upper handle along the attachment member. If the present invention is provided as an wringing accessory to the earlier described prior art mop, this accessory includes the upper handle, an attachment member and the protrusion extending therefrom so that the protrusion is in operative engagement with the helical groove of the attachment member.
When it is desirable to wring the mop, the lower handle is moved upwardly so that the mop fabric of the mop head is stretched and aligned parallel to the stick. The upper handle is then shifted away from the lower handle so that the stick and the lower end of the mop fabric are rotated as the upper handle is moved upwardly in the helical groove. In this way, the stick is rotated relative to the mop fabric of the mop head that is attached to the lower handle. The result is an automatic wringing when both handles are moved away from one another. More water is wrung out of the mop fabric by continuing the pull on the upper handle when it stops in its uppermost position due to the restraint of the mop fabric. This continued pull results in the lower handle moving downward, so that the ends of the mop fabric are pressed together, providing a very effective final squeeze of the mop fabric.